Nadine’s mum after an international manhunt was launched to find Almahri

In a victim impact statement Nadine’s mother said: “She was such a beautiful girl, in both looks and personality. She was a ray of sunshine in everyone’s lives.

“She was an inspiration to us all. She made you feel like you wanted to be a better person.

“Although she was strong and could hold her own, she also had a delicate heart.

“I will never forget when police came to tell us Nadine had been taken away from us. My life ended.
“We have all lived our lives ever since in a complete haze.

“Almahri knew what he was he was doing. I want to save her, I want to bring her back to life.

“My boys and girls are not now the people they used to be. They suffer in silence.

“By taking Nadine, Almahri has taken the glue that made this family.

“We allowed him to come into our family and instead he took from us my child.

“Life will never, ever be the same. No sentence that could be given to this man could compare to the sentence he has given to us. He has destroyed us.”

Nadine, who lived alone in her own flat in Cardiff Bay, met Almahri on an internet dating site called MuslimMatch.com.

The pair had a two year romance travelling between UK and New York at least three times.

Prosecutor Roger Thomas said: “They became friendly and contacted each other regularly by telephone, text and Skype.

“The friendship developed. It’s clear Almahri visited Nadine two or three times in 2013 and she travelled to New York to see him in the summer of 2014.”

The court heard that Almahri became “besotted” by Nadine – showering her with money and expensive presents.

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Mr Thomas said: “He paid for mobile phones and a car. She was living off Jobseeker’s Allowance.

“There’s no doubt the financial benefits were attractive to her.”

But, Almahri became “increasingly jealous” then began bombarding her with abusive messages.

The court heard he warned her: “You will be in hell.”

He discovered she had seen another man and sent her messages calling her a “hooker” and a “whore”.

He also text her a picture of her naked saying: “I am going to post these around a Facebook you hoe.”

Nadine had called police to say she had been raped by Almahri in New York – also claiming he had attempted to strangle her.

Jurors heard how Almahri travelled from the US and booked into the Future Inns hotel near her home on December 30, 2014 and lured her to meet him.

After drinking nine tequilas in the bar, Nadine arrived at the hotel and the pair later went to the Lilo Grillhouse – where restaurant staff described them as shouting and arguing during a 50-minute stay.

CCTV footage then showed the couple returning to the hotel at around 11.10pm – the last time Nadine was seen alive.

Shortly after 3am, Almahri left the hotel and travelled in her car to Heathrow where he was booked on a 10.35am flight to Doha in Qata.

Nadine’s body was found at around 12.20pm on New Year’s Eve by the duty manager.

The court heard Almahri was eventually located in Tanzania and arrested on an Interpol arrest warrant on January 19 before being returned to Britain.